Page 108 of Knot Their Soldier: Part One
“So, um, what are we doing today?”
He watches me, his keen gaze studying my face, tracing the lines of my slumped shoulders in an evaluating way. I still feel it like a physical touch and lean into it, perfume once again blossoming between us.
“Blaze was right. You look awful. We’ll do some tech training today instead,” he states, and there’s no room for argument in his tone.
I wither inside and my scent sours. They all think I look awful? I’ve been too tired and sore to really care about my appearance, but I must look like a disaster.
His nose wrinkles, and he purses his lips.
“Besides, it’s best we get you out of camp today. Give everyone some time to cool off.”
I want to ask what he means, but he’s already gesturing at me to follow him into the forest. He doesn’t walk quickly. In fact,it’s more of a leisurely stroll through the lush green forest and I quickly find myself relaxing.
We walk for a long time in silence, my lungs filling with the fresh air and my tight muscles relaxing with the gentle exercise. The birds chirp happily around us, their songs lifting my spirits.
“This is one of my favorite places,” Shade finally speaks.
“The forest?” I ask, peering at him through my peripheral vision. He nods.
“It reminds me of home.”
“Oh?”
“Before the military took me, my family lived next to a forest. The trees were much thicker and the birds sound different, but being among trees feels like home.”
“Do you get to visit your family?” I ask, climbing over a fallen tree trunk. Shade extends a hand to steady me and I take it with a smile.
He simply shakes his head as a response.
I get it. I haven’t seen my family since I left and don’t like talking about it. Instead, I widen my smile and change the subject. “It’s lovely out here. I can see why you like it.”
Truthfully, I’ve been too busy trying to survive my training to pay attention to the scenery.
We continue our walk until we reach the base of a towering tree. Before I can ask what we’re doing, Shade effortlessly pulls himself up onto a branch and straddles it. He reaches up and I finally notice the camouflage camera strapped to the trunk.
“Surveillance,” he says without me asking. “The Alphas’ enhanced senses are useful for monitoring the camp border, but it’s not a perfect system. They have to sleep and can get… distracted.”
He looks down at me from his lofty height, and I flush.
He’s talking about me. I’m a distraction.
“I have cameras and sensors set up around the forest to alert us to any unwanted visitors.”
He inspects the device, checking it over and repositioning it. As easily as he climbed the tree, he jumps down, swinging from the branch to control his descent. I’ve never seen a Beta move like him and I watch him like Blaze watches me eat. His biceps strain and flex, and my perfume makes another appearance.
His words finally process and I’m suddenly alarmed. “Wait, unwanted visitors?”
He shrugs. “Yeah. Nothing’s been detected yet, but we’ve had problems in the past in this region.”
I’m so lost. What is he talking about? I don’t know much about the outside world, but I could have sworn we were still within Fathim’s borders.
“Why… who would want to cause us problems? We’re military. We’re on their side,” I ask, worrying my bottom lip between my teeth.
He looks down at me for a long time. I wonder, not for the first time, what he sees when he looks at me.
“They really don’t tell Omegas anything, do they?”
I open my mouth to reply, but close it. Truthfully, I have no idea what the state of the world is other than what I’ve been told.
